The ownership of this armor by Ferdinand I (1503–1564) is indicated by the heraldic emblems on the toe caps: the imperial double-headed eagle surmounted by a royal crown, which signifies Ferdinand’s honorific status as king of the Romans and designated successor to his brother, Emperor Charles V. The image of the Virgin and Child on the breastplate was also used by Charles V on his own armors. The backplate is decorated with crossed staves and firesteels, the insignia of the Order of the Golden Fleece, an elite chivalric society of which Ferdinand was a member.

Kunz Lochner, Nuremberg’s most celebrated armorer of the period, made several armors for both Ferdinand and his son Archduke Maximilian (1527–1576), including two matching armors produced about 1546 that are very similar to the one exhibited here.

The helmet of the Museum’s armor was not made for it originally but has been associated with the armor since at least the early nineteenth century.

Signatures, Inscriptions, and Markings

Marking: Marked on the inner and outer faces of the principle elements: the blazon of the city of Nuremberg; and the initial N within a pearled border, denoting Nuremberg.

Los Angeles. Los Angeles County Museum of Art. "Loan Exhibition of Mediaeval and Renaissance Arms and Armor from the Metropolitan Museum of Art," January 15–March 18, 1953, no. 6.

San Francisco. California Palace of the Legion of Honor, Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco. "Loan Exhibition of Mediaeval and Renaissance Arms and Armor from the Metropolitan Museum of Art," April 18–June 7, 1953, no. 6.

MacAgy, Jermayne. The Installation of the Loan Exhibition of Mediaeval and Renaissance Arms and Armor at the Legion of Honor Museum from April 18 through July 5 Nineteen Hundred Fifty-Three. San Francisco: California Palace of the Legion of Honor, Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco, April 18–July 5, 1953. p. 13.